I Cracked My Colour Code

Grey betrayed me. Kaki saved me :-)

I realised something recently.

Grey is not my colour.
Red is not my colour.
White does absolutely nothing for me.

And yet I wore them. For years.

I think I believed monochrome was automatically chic. Clean. Elevated. Scandinavian. Serious.

Turns out monochrome is only chic if it’s your colour.

Because when it’s not, you just look pale. Or flat. Or like the outfit is wearing you.

I genuinely thought I just hadn’t styled things properly. That maybe I needed better basics. Better cuts. Better layering.

No.

I needed better colours.

The day it clicked was random. I wore kaki jeans, a kaki shirt, and tied a beige sweater around my waist like a belt. Nothing revolutionary. But I looked… right.

Not trendy. Not styled within an inch of my life. Just right.

Then I tried baby blue again. Still no.
Navy though? Immediate yes.

That’s when I understood something very simple.

Find what works. Then combine it.

That’s it.

It sounds obvious. It takes time.

Why Didn’t I See It Earlier?:

Because when you're younger, you're experimenting loudly.

You try trends.
You try personas.
You try aesthetics that photograph well.

You are attracted to what excites you, not what harmonizes with you.

And harmony is quiet.

It doesn’t scream.
It doesn’t go viral.
It doesn’t demand attention.

It just works.

When you’re younger you want contrast. Drama. Something noticeable.

You don’t want calm. You don’t want subtle. You don’t want “this just suits you.”

You want impact.

And sometimes impact is just you fighting your own undertone.

The Silver Situation:

My mom is a silver girl.

So I assumed I was one too. Logically. If I wanted to steal her jewellery and clothes, I had to be compatible.

But silver on me felt slightly cold. Slightly off. Not terrible. Just not right.

And instead of questioning it, I thought I had to try harder.

Now I know I don’t have to be the same to appreciate it.

I still love silver. Especially when it’s mixed, layered, stacked in a bold way like the pieces from Charlotte Chesnais. I love when brands finally dare to mix metals instead of forcing you to choose a side.

It feels more honest. Less rigid.

The Plot Twist:

Finding your colours isn’t dramatic.

It’s calm.

It’s realising you don’t have to fight your face.
You don’t have to overpower your skin.
You don’t have to copy someone else’s palette.

If an outfit feels frustrating now, I know it’s probably not the shape.

It’s the colour.

And that alone feels like cracking a code.

At least for now. Until I get bored again.

For the Colour Girls:

If colour loves you, use it as power.

My roommate kills red ballerinas. Every single time she wears red I’m like, you are a goddess.

Another one of my best friends could fully live in her boho Sienna Miller era forever. Flowy. Earthy. Slightly chaotic in the best way. It suits her so well, even when she says she doesn’t want too many colours.

Some people can wear anything. They just can.

If that’s you, lean into it. Let colour be your signature.

And if you’re more monochrome, make sure it’s your monochrome.

Not the one you saw on someone else.

Not the one that photographs well.

Yours.

Because once you find it, getting dressed stops feeling like a fight.

It becomes simple.

Find what works. Combine it.

Repeat.